Three years on, Justice4Grenfell joined by high profile supporters to demand the government commit to deadline to remove all flammable cladding.
London, 10th June 2020 – Nearly 3 years on from the Grenfell Tower disaster that claimed 72 lives, high profile supporters including Paloma Faith, Tinie Tempah and Ella Eyre rally behind Justice4Grenfell to urge the government to commit to a deadline to remove all flammable cladding as thousands of lives still remain at risk. On Wednesday 10th June at 9 am, supporters such as Lily Allen, GRM Daily, Ian Rankin and many more will post on their social media pledging to write to their MP’s to demand justice for Grenfell and encourage the wider public to do so too via supportGrenfell.co.uk. Despite public outcry at the time, and continuous campaigning from many groups, no one has been held accountable for the disaster at Grenfell. Firms involved were granted immunity from prosecution for their evidence at the inquiry, the fire brigade was made a scapegoat at the first stage of the inquiry and hundreds of tower blocks – 23,000 households with Grenfell style ACM cladding, and up to 500,000 people living with other non ACM flammable cladding, remain at risk in the UK. The government has recently announced a new fund for remedial work on high rise blocks to remove flammable cladding, which is a step forward. However, it missed its first deadline to remove all cladding by June 2020 (and was not near to reaching it pre-COVID-19). It has, as yet, not committed to another deadline, and has made funding to carry out the works complex, lengthy and obscure. Because of this, a number of influential names across various industries have come together to post an image which reads “Safe Homes. Protect Residents. Save Lives” alongside writing to their MP via a direct link supportGrenfell.co.uk demanding the Government commit to: A deadline to remove all ACM and non ACM flammable cladding systemA detailed timeline of how they will achieve thisThe Government being held accountable if they fail again Justice4Grenfell spokesperson, Yvette Williams, said: “We’re aware that the government has recently announced a fund dedicated to removing cladding but it’s not good enough. They have missed their own deadline for all flammable cladding to be removed by June 2020. It’s estimated the fund will only cover ⅓ of households, it’s offered on a first come first served basis, there is no commitment from the government to a deadline for completed works, and it does not cover buildings under 18m. Residents in one tower block in Manchester have been told that they are ineligible to apply for funding. For the people affected, there is still no clear understanding of the time frame to have these panels removed. We believe the Government needs to act with urgency and set clear timings for completion, and take accountability for an expedient removal. At a time where people are urged to stay in their homes more, safety is paramount. Over 23,000 households are still covered in Grenfell style flammable cladding 3 years after the Grenfell disaster. The fight for change and justice must continue as many thousands of people’s lives are at risk.” Appendix List of celebs who will be participating online and/or have pledged support: Music Paloma Faith, Tinie Tempah, Ella Eyre, Lily Allen, Mystery Jets, Naughty Boy, Wilkinson, Flohio, Wavy The Creator, S1, SK, TK, DJ Charlsey, GRM Daily, Cerys Matthews, Doc Brown, Poundz, Digga D Cinema/Film Hayley Atwell Sport Maro Itoje TV Jolyon Rubenstein Comedy Dane Baptiste, Mo Gilligan Fashion Ian Rankin, Vanessa Kingori MP Richard Burgon Unions GMB RMT ASLEF Unite FBU The Communications Workers Union |